Distant Sky
by erin boriiss
Summary: Artemis is taken from a book to the 20th century. sounds corny here, i know. but just read anyway. thank you! ^^
1. Default Chapter

Faye Penetrante stood up and smiled, her golden eyes triumphant. She gave a loud cheer and pumped her fist into the air, looking around in satisfaction in the small room, especially built for this purpose. She heard a sound behind her and she turned around, knowing whom it was already.  
  
Migi Lim came in, carrying with her two glasses of lemonade. She handed one over to her friend and she drank her own, waiting somewhat wearily for her friend to begin an explanation, even if she had a sinking idea she knew what it was going to be. Faye took a grateful swig on the juice and took a deep breath.  
  
"It's finished," she said, a little calmer. "The device we're going to use to capture Artemis Fowl! Who would've guessed!"  
  
Faye laughed heartily, her hands on her hips.  
  
"This is great, this is amazing- fantastic!" she raved.  
  
Migi was dumbfounded. She simply stared at Faye, trying to think of a way to put what she had to say into words without offending the other.  
  
"Err. Faye." she began. She was about to tell Faye about a psychiatrist down the road, but then she changed her mind. It was better to just stall the poor thing and make her passion die down than to shatter her dreams. "There's a test tomorrow in Chemistry, and you'd better not screw that up.and then there's a reaction paper in Filipino for that movie we watched.and you're just wasting your time building a toy that might not even light up."  
  
Faye looked at Migi, her finger shaking at the red haired girl, as if she wanted to say something. Migi stood patiently, ready to counteract whatever Faye was going to say. Finally, the latter left the room in a huff, bringing with her her cup of lemonade.  
  
"I'll show you!" Migi thought she heard Faye say, but then decided that it was her imagination. She stepped forward to the contraption, trying to see how far her friend had gone beyond the line. It was a steel machine, probably done with some help from the poor blacksmith that lived in the alleys of downtown. There was an opening door from the rounded sides, like the ones you see in the movies. There was a big jumble of wires, and a whole lot of buttons. A makeshift slot had an arrow pointing to it, bearing the words: "Artemis Fowl".  
  
Migi shook her head yet again. Her head was clouded with a thousand scientific reasons who it was impossible for Artemis Fowl to come alive using this machine, so many that she couldn't even start to know where to begin. So this was what Faye had been devoting her time to for the past several months, she thought.  
  
Faye came in seconds later, holding her softbound book copy of Artemis Fowl high over her head. She nodded to Migi and gave a subtle jab at the book.  
  
"Just give it a try, will you?" she asked. Migi couldn't think of anything to say. Faye's black hair was slightly tangled, obviously having been through a furious last minute attempt to be matted down. Migi shrugged. If this was the way it was going to have to be to show Faye that these things don't happen in real life, then so be it.  
  
"Great!" Faye said. She clapped. Migi set her cup of lemonade on the floor, away from the electrical outlets, and proceeded towards the machine. Faye handed the book to her and took off her working jumpsuit. She jumped out in a pair of white shorts and a tank top. Again she tried to set her hair straight.  
  
She grabbed the book from Migi and placed the book into the slot. There was a whirring sound, and then the two doors opened, closing as soon as the two friends jumped into the red platform, leaving a seriously spooked girl and her bouncy companion.  
  
A zillion tiny lights blinked at them for all directions, making Migi squint. Faye was staring directly into the lights, her face in an expression of pride. When the lights went off, Faye began an explanation.  
  
"Listen, Migs, I'm going to tell you what's going to happen. We're going to be into the one place where Butler CANNOT go to."  
  
"."  
  
"Which basically means, we're going to the shower," Faye continued after the silence. "After two minutes and seven seconds, the safety feature of this machine is going to activate, and we get transported back to where we came from."  
  
Before Migi could even take in what had been said, the doors opened. Migi sort of craned her neck a bit, fully expecting to see the small cramped room from where she had come from. But then. a ray of light. Her heart dropped somewhere to the place her intestine was supposed to be. She and Faye stood out of the machine.  
  
"Juliet?" Came a voice from somewhere off. There was the sound of a shower, then the sound of the water being turned off. Silence. "Juliet? I thought I told you not to get the laundry while I was still in the shower."  
  
More silence.  
  
Split seconds before it actually happened, Migi had this strange feeling she knew what was coming next. She was able to knock a stunned Faye to the ground an instant before a tranquilizer came whizzing towards their heads, or to be exact, where their heads used to be.  
  
Faye and Migi were smart enough to recognize what the vial the clear liquid that solidified then became liquefied again was. Faye had been keeping all sorts of potions and vials in their house the day after they had watched the trailer of the second Harry Potter.  
  
Faye looked up from where she and her friend were on the floor, and to her utter embarrassment and horror, a slightly tanned but relatively pale boy walked out from the shower area, wearing nothing but a towel. He looked at the both of them, holding a tranquilizer gun, the kind used on animals, not on people, in his hand. In the cock, from a distance, she was able to see that it held one last vial.  
  
And from the look on his face, Faye could tell that he was trying to decide who to shoot. It would have been easier if he hadn't wasted that one shot that had failed. Now he was thinking about who was the leader. It was always a good idea to shoot off the leader and deal with the lesser people later.  
  
Faye stood up. Slowly. Her hand were held above her head in a giving-up position, backing away from him. She spared a minute to look over her shoulder, and Migi, from the floor, followed the glance. Their hearts started to pound hard at the same time. The machine had disappeared. There was only the bathroom counter, and a few small potted plants stood innocently on the tiles.  
  
"We're not doing anything wrong here," she began. She stole a look at Migi.  
  
Migi stared back, dumbfounded, until she realized what was being told to her. Think- to be able to catch Artemis Fowl. So what if she would be hit by the dart and be slipped into unconsciousness? Then the last of the dart would be used on her, and that would give Faye a chance instead to make a grab for Artemis until the safety feature activated and they would go back to their home in New Jersey. Migi stood up, her arms in the same position as Faye's.  
  
"Yeah," she mumbled. Then fate had something in store for the lucky friends. Artemis actually opened his mouth to say something, like he was about to pronounce the letter 'b'. Migi guessed that he was about to call on Butler. She dashed forward, aiming completely for the hand with the tranquilizer.  
  
A blur at her side told her that Faye had also managed to think to be able to catch Artemis in his moment of distraction. Migi was lucky. Artemis had shot the dart on impulse and instinct the exact moment Migi landed on his arm. The two fell to the ground heavily. Artemis held the empty gun, and the dart had crashed to the ground, sharp tip and tranquilizer both wrecked. Artemis, the stronger one, summoned enough strength to push Migi off him. Or he tried to. Faye had tripped over Migi, and had landed on Migi, who was over Artemis, who had the breath literally knocked out of his chest.  
  
Faye, horrified, struggled to get up, and find a weapon. She was able to grab onto one of the potted plants. Faye lifted the pot high over her head.  
  
"Migi! Move it!"  
  
(Migi: Eh?)  
  
Migi moved to reveal a very livid Artemis under her. His yes barely had time to widen in surprise when the pot came down on his head. As the dust cleared, everything was quiet in the large bathroom.  
  
"Eek, you've done it, you idiot," Migi said, leaning over Artemis, her hand on his forehead. Faye moaned, dusting the dirt off her pants.  
  
"Don't remind me, that I'm stronger than I look," she said. Migi nodded soberly.  
  
Migi looked like she was about to say something, but a white light engulfed them all- Artemis- Migi- and then Faye, and they disappeared.  
  
PRESENT DAY- SMALL CRAMPED HOUSE UP ON THE HILL IN THE MOUNTAINS ^_^  
  
"Ack!! What the heck are we supposed to do about this?!" Migi screamed. They were in the small room where the short-circuited machine stood. On the ground was the unconscious figure of Artemis.  
  
Migi pointed to him.  
  
"We cant keep him here! What do we do?! Think about when he wakes up! He's going to find a way to make us miserable or suck all our money before he figures out a way to get back to his own world!"  
  
Faye regarded Migi rigidly, a happy, oblivious look on her face.  
  
"I KNEW this would happen, somehow," she said. "I've prepared for this a bit."  
  
She went out of the room and came back with a pair of handcuffs.  
  
"We've got to handcuff him first," she explained. "If he's free when he wakes, he's sure to find a way to some place in this house that I can't follow his actions."  
  
She knelt down next to the body and took one wrist. She slid one loop, then the other. Migi gaped.  
  
"He's not wearing anything but a towel," Faye mused, turning red. "Migs, get some of my shorts and one of my really loose t-shirts and just dump it in this room."  
  
Migi, not knowing what to say, attended to the tasks automatically.  
  
Faye was left alone with Artemis. From a pocket, she fished another hand-cuff. She chained it to one of his ankles, then found a pipe pole where she place the other end. Complete domination over the hostage.  
  
"Here," Migi said in a monotone voice as she came back. She dumped some faded home clothes on the dirt floor and squatted to watch Faye watch Artemis.  
  
"Don't you think you over did it a bit with the cuffs?" she asked lightly.  
  
Faye shook her head and turned serious, frowning slightly.  
  
"No, we cant underestimate him. I've set up a hidden camera in this room, in the wall. Yeah, I've also set up cameras in the other rooms. This will be his place to stay from now on."  
  
"In this crowded room?! Look at it! It still has all the equipment you used to make that machine of yours! He's sure to use it to his advantage, all those wires and sharp parts!"  
  
"Yes, yes, I thought about that too."  
  
"Eh?"  
  
"We're going to move it out of this room."  
  
"To where? There's no other place except the kitchen, my room, your room, and the bathroom."  
  
"To the garage!"  
  
"The car-!"  
  
"We'll park it outside," Faye said cheerfully.  
  
Migi shook her head, but she was slightly amused.  
  
"Okay, fine. Let's start moving this junk out of here."  
  
LATER ON, WELL PAST MIDNIGHT  
  
"Unh."  
  
The dark- eyed teen grunted and put a hand to his head. Where was he? He couldn't move around, realizing that he was completely bound by the hands and his feet her literally cuffed to the pole.  
  
He looked around. He was in the center of a completely empty dirt room except a small pile of clothes, with no windows, only one door to the side. There was no ventilation at all. The ground was made of brown packed dirt. He started in alarm.  
  
"What the-"  
  
"You're awake."  
  
The wooden door opened, and a black-haired girl with golden eyes came in.  
  
"I'm Faye," she said, holding out her hand, which he refused to look at. He summoned a breath.**spit effects**  
  
**Ptooey** the saliva landed on her palm. She looked at it.  
  
"Are you losing your diplomatic skills, Artemis?" she asked pleasantly. Artemis watched her every move, his lie-detector section of his brain rising to catch every mistake she made.  
  
:: she's wary of any move I'm going to make,:: he thought.  
  
::It's going to be easier to trick her then.::  
  
He looked at her. Directly. For these people who didn't know how to handle hostages, it was better to take control.  
  
"Where am I?" he asked in a deadpan voice.  
  
Faye looked to her left.  
  
"England, of course."  
  
::she's lying,:: came Artemis' automatic voice inside his head. But he didn't say anything. He just shrugged.  
  
"Why am I here?"  
  
Faye looked down, then she looked at him.  
  
"I thought it would be cool to show you off in my high school."  
  
::Darn, she's not lying.::  
  
"What the heck makes you think you can keep me in here?"  
  
"Because you have to do whatever we say."  
  
::Anyone can tell she's bluffing.::  
  
"And why's that?"  
  
"Because my friend and I are the only people who know how to get you back to where you came from." Her voice was matter-of-factly.  
  
::Dammit, NOW she's telling the truth.::  
  
"I can figure out where I am, then I can get back myself," he said instead through clenched teeth. He was red from embarrassment. He had realized that he was just in a towel. Faye, realizing what he was thinking, turned red in turn.  
  
"WE weren't going to be the ones to change you," she pointed out.  
  
Artemis looked away, looking completely adorable in Faye's eyes. ^^  
  
".That door. Is that lock made out of brass?" He asked.  
  
Faye looked to where he faced.  
  
"Er."  
  
She didn't know what to say. What was the question for? Did he know how to escape from a brass lock? While she sputtered like an idiot, the door suddenly burst open. It was Migi, carrying a tray of food.  
  
Migi looked harassed. Her red hair was in a mess, and her eyes had smudges underneath.  
  
"Your food," she said. She roughly set the food in front of Artemis. "And don't go around asking so many questions," she said crossly. "You're the prisoner here, not Faye, and stop trying to see if you can intimidate her."  
  
Migi had seen what had been happening through the hidden camera.  
  
"Faye, get out. I'm tired and I want to go to sleep. Let me talk to this guy."  
  
Faye left without saying anything, without any hesitation. She was sort of relieved for the help, and she wanted to sleep as well.  
  
The door closed with a sort of dull click of the lock. Artemis forced himself to look at the floor as if nothing had happened, but thoughts ran through his head. He knew. The lock was made out of brass.  
  
Migi was watching him intently, tired eyes sharp.  
  
"Well, I guess that means I'm going to have to put another lock from the outside," she said.  
  
Artemis fowled at the sudden realization, sooner than when h could have hid the scowl. Migi smirked, he saw, as he looked up at her. She was kneeling beside him.  
  
"How did you know?" he asked. Since she already knew, it was better to know what he source was instead of trying to deny it. He kept his face impassive, hoping to encourage the girl for the answer, thinking that it was unimportant.  
  
"I just know," Migi said in a matter of fact voice. She herself was smart enough not to reveal she knew about his nature and about his thoughts, because of the Book. Migi settled down on her knees.  
  
"Eat up," Migi said suddenly. "I'm not leaving you here with the utensils."  
  
Artemis said nothing. He reached out with a pair of cuffed hands and used the utensils to eat. Migi turned away to be polite. It was rude to stare when someone was eating.  
  
Artemis made small talk.  
  
"Is it possible for me to escape and report this to the police?" he asked. Which, of course, was actually a threat of him to accuse them of kidnapping, or he was trying to ask if he had arrived in the place by any normal means, which was believable enough.  
  
It was a good thing Migi was facing away from him. Her eyes had suddenly taken on a slightly guilty hint.  
  
"No," she said, her voice betraying nothing. "No, you cannot."  
  
Artemis nodded. He was a genius. Of course. She had answered the purpose. Unknowingly, she had told him that he was in a strange place, without any support from his friends or contacts.  
  
"Oh. Okay," he said, continuing to eat. "How long are you going to keep me here before anyone finds out?"  
  
That question, of course, had a different side to it as well. He was asking if anyone had a chance to find out that he had been kidnapped, or that people knew if he was missing.  
  
"No one will find out." Migi's voice was decisive.  
  
Artemis knew then. She had answered yet again another one of the silent questions. She had admitted to him that they were in a secluded area where there would be no one to question them if they were to be gone for a couple of days. Even if Artemis felt a little triumphant about how well he was dissecting her answers, the chances for him were looking bleak. He picked at the empty tray.  
  
"Are you going to bring me back to England?" he asked. He knew that they weren't in England, despite what Faye had tried to tell him. He wasn't so stupid.  
  
"Yes, we will."  
  
Her voice was indecisive, which meant only two things. One, she wasn't sure that she herself could, or the other was, she wasn't sure if she was going to let him go back. Artemis decided on the former.  
  
"Are you finished yet?" Migi suddenly broke in. she turned around to face him. He saw the empty tray. "Great," she said. She took the tray and looked the utensils over. Fork, spoon, foil. Yes, everything was complete.  
  
Artemis looked up at her. In the palm of his hand, he held a tiny chicken bone, slim and perfect for picking a lock unless it were to snap. He knew that she wouldn't be checking the bones individually. Personally, he was grateful for the food, but he didn't want to show any sign of softness to his captors.  
  
"I'm going to unlock those handcuffs on your hands," Migi said. "It ought to give you enough freedom to change into those clothes (she turned red) that are here."  
  
Migi bent down again and set the tray beside him. She was jumpy, knowing that he was smart enough to know when to fool or trick her. But he said nothing.  
  
"Hey," he said.  
  
Migi looked up. Their eyes met for a while, and they held.  
  
"I think Faye called you Migi. Tell me. Am I going to get out of here?"  
  
Migi looked at his serious eyes. They were telling her something. She read both the message and the threat.  
  
"Yes," Migi said finally. Then a sudden bout of wit came over her. "You will get out of here, but you only think you can. There's a difference between knowing and thinking."  
  
Artemis scoffed in her face. "What makes you so sure?"  
  
That was another tactic, he knew. But Migi wasn't stupid enough.  
  
"I just know. Don't kid yourself, dear. It's unbecoming of you."  
  
Artemis looked away. Could he use this girl's emotions to play against her?  
  
"How do you feel about kidnapping a person anyway?" He asked. He was going for her conscience.  
  
"Who do you think I am, Mother Teresa?" Migi answered in reply. The metal cuffs unhooked with a snap. Artemis just let his hands fold in his lap neatly.  
  
"You don't look like you're a Caucasian. Are you from an Asian country?"  
  
Migi gave him a skeptical look and raised an eyebrow. She decided to humor him for a while.  
  
"So what if I am?"  
  
"Then I'm guessing you're Vietnamese."  
  
"Just because my skin is brown and my eyes are a bit slanted, doesn't mean I'm a Vietnamese."  
  
"Are you a Chinese?"  
  
"Since when do Chinese have dark skin? I don't even go out in the sun very often."  
  
"Oh. Then you must either be an Indonesian, Malaysian, or Filipino person."  
  
"Maybe."  
  
Migi looked away and held the handcuffs and the keys. She put the keys in her pocket and picked up the empty tray.  
  
"Just tell me your religion then!" Artemis said, his patience nearly exhausted. He was tired and annoyed at the closed up nature of these people. They were too wary of his and his questions, and how could that be? He wasn't even that suspicious.  
  
Meanwhile, a girl named Migi had snapped.  
  
"Listen!" she said, as annoyed with him as he was with her. "Stop fishing around for answers, alright?! It wont help you to use my beliefs against me, no matter what you do! Yeah, Artemis Fowl, if you really want to know, then you're not getting out of here, at least not without asking my help or Faye's"  
  
Artemis just stared at her.  
  
"Are you serious?" He asked. Migi huffed.  
  
"Yeah." Migi looked away. "Sorry, Artemis. I can't help you. Too late."  
  
She stood up and started to walk out of the door. Artemis' plead: 'Wait' stopped her.  
  
"I don't know what's happening here, but then if what you're saying is true, then I'd have to do whatever you guys tell me to do or else I'm not getting out of here."  
  
Migi sighed. "And even if you run away, you're not getting very far. Not in this world we're in. Even if you're armed with a zillion bullets and a rifle, some gangsters are going to appear, with double your bullets and half a dozen men, and they're going to take you down for the fun of it."  
  
Artemis stood up, but stayed where he was. The restraints weren't going to allow him to go any further.  
  
"Tell me what I'm going to do," he said sullenly. "Just promise me that you're going to tell me how to get back where I came from."  
  
Migi looked at his serious face, his piercing eyes. "Okay," she said. "This is the deal."  
  
END CHAPTER ONE 


	2. blend in with the days

Artemis Fowl looked in distaste around him. There were several students milling around in all directions, giving him strange stares. They all wore the same uniform, the girls a short maroon skirt and a white blouse, and the men, blue slacks and polo. It gave the strange illusion in this place of the people being completely faceless, their bodies the same as everyone else around them.  
  
Then Artemis looked down on his own body. It was clad in the same degrading blue slacks. He was holding a back pack filled with new notebooks and a couple of pens. Faye was cradling one arm lovingly, and Migi was tentatively following beside him at a safe distance. In his mind, Artemis remembered the deal.  
  
FLASHBACK  
  
"Okay, what do I have to do then?"  
  
"We're going to bring you to our school?"  
  
"You're school? What the heck do you want me to do there? Sit around and listen to the teacher?"  
  
"No. Faye wants to show you around."  
  
"For what?" Artemis had looked away. He just didn't get the point. So what if he was going to go to their school and mingle with them? What did they want?  
  
"Er. don't argue with me here, I'm not so sure of this myself. The point is, Faye needs to show you off. She sort of wants to prove that she isn't crazy. See, when she told our classmates and physics teacher that she was going to bring you to life, they laughed their heads off. So. she just has to do this showing off before you go. Oh, and she's going to take a whole lot of pictures."  
  
Artemis had been skeptical. "That's dumb. Won't people just say that I'm a kid who looks like Artemis but isn't? And I don't blame your peers for laughing their heads off. It IS a pretty stupid idea in the first place."  
  
Migi had turned red. "Idiot! Don't argue with Faye! She seems a little knocked around in the head, but she's really the smartest among us all! This time, maybe she DID go too far.I'm really sorry you have to be involved in this, Artemis."  
  
Artemis had shrugged. "Okay, whatever. So, what, am I going to go to your school in a pair of faded shorts and a really large shirt?"  
  
Migi had called in Faye then through a walkie-talkie. Faye was more attuned about what they were supposed to do. After all, Faye was the one who had thought the whole thing up in the first place. Faye had entered the dirt room, and the two had stood high and mighty before Artemis. Artemis, his pride not allowing him to just stay still, had stood up and met their gaze. He had crossed his arms in the same manner. They were all unfazed by the other.  
  
"We're going to take you shopping," Faye said. "But the thing is, we need something to make sure that you really don't try to go off escaping."  
  
"Like what? All I took with me was a fluffy towel that I had been wearing."  
  
"That's just it. I want you to give us something."  
  
"Eh?" Artemis had looked at them strangely. "I'm telling you! I don't have anything that might be used as an exchange or anything! At least, not with me right now."  
  
Migi gave a sideways look at Faye. "He IS right, you know," she whispered.  
  
Faye shook off that comment.  
  
"Don't be ridiculous. Fine, then I'm going to make you sign a contract."  
  
"You mean a piece of paper? Do you really think that will make me stick around? IF I try to leave?"  
  
"Then I also want your promise. You know you can't break your promises."  
  
Artemis looked away, annoyed. She must have known. A few years back, in another one of LEPrechaun units' Holly's attempt to bring him down, she had been able to cast a spell that would force him to keep his promises. But. that was in his old world, and he was certain that this was some where else. Would leprechaun powers still have a hold of him in this place?  
  
Still, he didn't want to try his luck. Back where he came from, when he would try to breal a promise, pain spread through his head and he would be knocked back, unconscious. Afterwards, he would have difficulty breathing for a long time. Each traumatic experience got worse, so he really would have preferred not to do anything.  
  
He was waiting for the right time. You see, he had the exact time and date of the spell. It had been cast on a December 14, 2000, when he was fifteen years old. And unfortunately, for those fairies, their spells lasted for a maximum of two years, except for the very greatest. So in other words, all he had to do was wait for December 14, and then he would be able to break his promised and try to escape. Fairies weren't allowed to cast the same spell twice on the same target, to prevent hazing.  
  
But.as of now, he was trapped. It was November 3, 2002. All he had to do was wait out a month or so. It wasn't usually like him to think about waiting things out, but that was when he was in familiar territory. Now, he was chained to a pipe by two GIRLS, in some faded clothes in a dirt room.  
  
"Well?" Faye's voice brought Artemis out of his reverie.  
  
"How did you know about that?" Artemis asked, suspicious.  
  
"Oh, I know a whole lot of things about you," Faye said in a nonchalant voice.  
  
"Now here." Faye gestured to Migi. Migi whipped out a piece of paper and a pen. She gave him a sort of apologetic look that said: 'I' sorry I'm part of this.'  
  
Artemis was allowed to read it.  
  
'I, ARTEMIS FOWL, WILL NOT ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE OR TO TRY TO TAKE OVER THIS HOUSE IN WHICH I AM STANDING IN AS I SIGN THIS BLESSED PIECE OF PAPER, UNLESS ONE OF THE TWO WILL ALLOW ME TO GO AWAY AHEAD OF THE AGREED TIME. MEANWHILE, I WILL NOT TRY TO CHOKE OR HURT FAYE PENETRANTE AND MIGI LIM AS I AM UNDER THEIR CARE. I AM A SLAVE (Artemis' eyebrows went up), AND IT WOULD NOT BE WISE FOR ME TO PULL ANYTHING 'FUNNY'. AGAIN, I WILL REMAIN UNDER FAYE AND MIGI'S INSTRUCTION.'  
  
Artemis looked up at Faye, his eyes slit. "Wait a minute," he said. "I want you to add: 'I will not try to escape until I see that my two captors are not willing to fulfill their part of their promises.'"  
  
Faye huffed, but she took the paper. Hastily, she added it. "There," she said, her tone of voice satisfied. "At least you'll know that we wont be trying to lock you up in here until you're twenty one years old."  
  
Artemis reluctantly signed the piece of paper. Then Faye made him repeat the words out loud, punctuating the end with an 'I promise'.  
  
When that was over, the two girls brightened up, their smiles wide.  
  
"Okay!" Migi said. "Let's go shopping! Come on, Artemis, I'm going to have to remove those restraints."  
  
END OF FLASHBACK  
  
Now, Artemis kept glancing around subtly with keen eyes. Just because he had promised that he wouldn't try to escape, it didn't mean that he wouldn't try to find out about where he wa or what he would do when the time did come.  
  
"So where's World History?" Artemis asked Faye, glancing at his list of subjects. Faye let go of his arm and instead pointed out some directions.  
  
"You go right there and then keep walking until you see a door that says I-3," she said. "You have the same class with Migi, so I'm going to leave the two of you alone. I'll see you in English literature."  
  
Faye gave a sudden stop as she entered a classroom that had been right beside her the moment she had uttered those words. Migi took Faye's place.  
  
"Having fun yet?" Migi asked dryly. Artemis said nothing. It wasn't his personality to talk so much, and now that it was established that he wasn't being kidnapped for ransom or anything, he had slipped back into his old personality.  
  
Migi led him to the classroom. Artemis couldn't help but compare the size with the classroom he had had in London. This Japanese high school classroom, as he learned it was, was filled with twenty-seven students. In London, the highest number was eighteen. They had come in late for the class.  
  
"Oh, Migi Lim," the teacher greeted pleasantly. He was a nicely built man in his early twenties, seemingly straight out of college. "Are we running a little late today? Who is this, a friend of yours?"  
  
Artemis busied himself by studying the teacher. A moment later he realized that Migi, who had always been quick to answer back any comment, was sort of silent. He stole a look at her, and noticed that she had turned red, but she had nodded. When she opened her mouth, her voice was choked.  
  
"Yes, Mr. Tess." Migi cleared her throat and regained her composure. The blotches in her cheeks disappeared. "He enrolled yesterday. His name is Artemis Fowl."  
  
"Artemis Fowl." Mr. Tess murmured thoughtfully. Then he sort of laughed and said: "Now I know why the name sounds so familiar! Isn't that the same name of that small boy in the book Artemis Fowl?"  
  
::The book.Artemis Fowl?:: Artemis looked at Migi questioningly. Migi looked pale. Artemis had a sudden burst of light.  
  
:: Is that book where those two bimbos got information about me?::  
  
Artemis looked at the teacher. He knew that he was going to be in suspicion because of what he was about to ask, but he went ahead anyway.  
  
"Is that book, Artemis Fowl.Does it, by any chance, talk about a guy with black hair and blue eyes?"  
  
The history teacher smiled pleasantly.  
  
"Well," he began. "It doesn't deal with a GUY, exactly, it deals with some adolescent kid who kidnaps an elf, and he tries to stop time and-"  
  
"THANK YOU!" Migi burst in. she cut in front of Artemis, after figuring out what the sneak had done. "Thank you, Mr. Tess, but that's really enough. Right, Artemis?"  
  
She turned her head around and gave him a slight smile. A forced one. Artemis said: "Yeah, that was enough. Thank you, sir."  
  
Mr. Tess looked a little confused, but then he ran a hand through his hair.  
  
"Oh.alright, where will you sit, Artemis? That seat next to Ms. Lim is occupied. Why don't you sit there next to Cammie Tindrea?"  
  
He was pointing out a seat in the middle of the classroom, an empty desk on the right of a really pretty girl. On his other side, was a pale guy with dark brown hair.  
  
Artemis took the seat. A few seats to his left, directly in the front row, was Migi. She was listening intently to whatever the history teacher had to say. Artemis hid his amusement. The class itself was actually quite boring, but Migi seemed to be drinking it all in.  
  
::she's actually infatuated with the history teacher,:: Artemis thought. ::I feel sorry for Mr. Tess.::  
  
The bell rang after forty minutes. Everyone seemed all too eager to get up. All at once, they were clamoring and they were flowing out of the classroom. Artemis stayed in his seat, bored, until Migi made her way towards him. He looked up at her.  
  
"You're lessons are so behind. I learned that when I was in junior high."  
  
Migi ignored him.  
  
"You're next class is Chemistry. Oh, crap, my schedule is different from yours. I have PE, and I can't be late for PE. Madam will kill me. I don't think Faye has PE until tomorrow. Quick, ask someone around here."  
  
Migi glanced around, but there were no more students anymore, aside from Karren, who was taking her time gathering up her things slowly, and the class jock, who had fallen asleep at the back. Mr. Tess was erasing the blackboard.  
  
"I cant show you to the chemistry lab!" Migi hissed. "Do you know what happened to the last time I was late for PE? Madam made me do push-ups in front of the whole class-alone!"  
  
Artemis showed no reacting. He picked up his still empty notebook and started to walk out of the classroom. Migi stared after him.  
  
"Wait-" she said. She turned and looked around frantically, then her eyes rested on Karren, who had slung her book bag over her shoulder and was waiting patiently for Migi to move so that she could pass. Migi did move.  
  
"Hey Kara," Migi said in a stage whisper. "Can you catch up with Artemis and make sure that he doesn't attract too much attention around here? Please! I know we don't really talk to each other that often, but this is really important! You don't know what havoc he could reap if he were to be left alone to analyze every single jolly student here!"  
  
Migi was starting to ramble. Kara gave her a curious expression, then smiled.  
  
"Sure," she said, then exited. Migi was about to hurry out when the voice of her history professor came into her mind. Inwardly, her heart melted, but she struggled to keep her face impassive, even if she knew that she would fail. She had always been so terrible at hiding her emotions.  
  
"Yes, Mr. Tess?" she asked as she approached him. She was unaware of the time.  
  
"That guy, Artemis Fowl," said the young teacher, "you seem to care for him a whole lot, looking out for him like you do. An old friend of yours?"  
  
Migi scuffed the ground with her school shoes. She sighed.  
  
"You can say that he's the friend of my best friend, so basically, I have to watch out for him or he's going to get my best friend into lots of trouble."  
  
Mr. Tess nodded. "Oh."  
  
He glanced at his watch. "Go on. I think you're late for your next subject. It was PE, wasn't it?"  
  
Migi looked at her own wristwatch and groaned. She was late by ten minutes.  
  
SCHOOL HALLWAY, ARTEMIS BEFORE CHEMISTRY CLASS  
  
"Hey, wait up!"  
  
Artemis had been walking by himself, not minding the admiring stares of the girls around him or the annoyed looks of the guys. When a hand was laid on his shoulder, Artemis gave a start, and looked behind him. It was Karren, the girl who sat beside him in History class.  
  
"Migi told me to watch where you were going," Kara explained. "I'm Kara. Don't worry, my next class is also Chemistry."  
  
Artemis looked away from her, but fell beside her steps, following her lead.  
  
"That book.Artemis Fowl, have you read it, too?" he asked.  
  
Kara looked up at him. "Yeah. I mean, lots of people have gotten around to reading it. It's such a strange coincidence that your names match, isn't it?"  
  
Artemis nodded.  
  
"Hey, are you mute or something? You hardly talk."  
  
"Can I borrow that book, Artemis Fowl?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, sure."  
  
Ever ready, she unzipped her book bag and took out a ragged copy of the book. Artemis took one look at it, and then he read the back. The moment he finished reading the first sentence, his eyes had grown wide. He opened the book and scanned the pages.then incomprehension washed over him.  
  
How could this author have known so much about what he had accomplished when he was twelve years old? How could the author have captured every single private moment and emotion, emotions that even Juliet hadn't known about?  
  
Kara made a turn. "Here it is."  
  
She opened the door for him. "Return that book before this Friday, all right? I need it for a book report."  
  
They had been late for the subject, but the teacher didn't seem to have noticed. She just adjusted her glasses and looked at the pair who had walked in.  
  
"Ms. Tindrea. Is that the new student I was informed about? Since everyone has been assigned to their partners already, then the two of you should be together."  
  
Kara took her desk in the second row and Artemis took an empty one near the back.  
  
"You're going to be performing a project," The teacher announced. "It will involve the compressing of air to make it into a liquid. This class will do the partner by pair, they will devise a simple machine that will compress a gas. For further instructions, look into the yellow book, page three hundred thirty five. Okay. Meet with your assigned partner now."  
  
Artemis hadn't been listening. He was busy reading the first pages of the book. He was brought to the reality only when Kara tapped on his desk. She had dragged a chair to where he sat.  
  
"So what do you want us to do?" Kara asked him. Artemis glanced at the page number and set the book aside. He shrugged.  
  
"What do you think we should do?"  
  
"I don't know. Think."  
  
Artemis looked around. There were a bunch of girls staring at him and smiling. He asked one randomly: "Hey, can you give me and my partner here an idea of what to make for this project?"  
  
A burst of replies sounded. Artemis turned to Kara, his face passive and uncaring.  
  
"Take those ideas down," he said pleasantly. "Those are the ideas for our project."  
  
She was already taking down the ideas as they came. When the chorus stopped and the girls were apparently waiting for Artemis to say something else, Kara piped up:  
  
"You must be proud of yourself. Or feeling smug, then."  
  
Artemis opened the book again.  
  
"What goes on in that head of yours, anyway?" Kara put a hand in the book, where he was reading, forcing him to look up at her. Her dark brown eyes were bright.  
  
"You're smug, aren't you?"  
  
Artemis looked lazily back down at the book and nudged the pages out of the hand. She was wrong. He wasn't smug, as she so charmingly put it. He was simply indifferent. He didn't really care what she said or what the girls were saying.  
  
Meanwhile, Kara Tindrea continued to look at his down turned face. So she was wrong. His reaction told her that. She went to her second option. If he wasn't smug, then he was indifferent. She smiled to herself. It was so rare when she could find a person to figure out. But this guy seemed to be easy enough. Oh well, he was easy, but it would be a new person to figure out.  
  
"Then you don't care about what people think," Kara said. Artemis didn't seem to have heard. The small involuntary bob of his head told Kara that she was right. "You think that you look so cool with your attitude, but to me you look stupid."  
  
From her view, she couldn't see Artemis' grin. He knew people like her.  
  
He spoke and looked up, his piercing eyes ort of surprising Kara with their depth.  
  
"Let me tell you something. I know you're trying to figure me out, and to tell you the truth, you were actually right. I AM indifferent. But that's as far as you'll get. I'm not a jigsaw puzzle to put together, or a math equation. Here, let me tell you something about yourself and why you never have anyone to go with. Do you really want to know why? You make them feel like puzzles, when they aren't. you think you're a deep thinker because you can tell why people act the way you do. Or you think you know. You cant accept it if you're predictions are wrong. You annoy people with your strange questions, and you think you're so mysterious. Heh."  
  
There. Artemis took a deep breath. Kara was expressionless, just simply staring at him. Then she started to laugh. He was wrong in some parts, but correct in other parts, and she had to give him credit for that.  
  
"Then here's what I think about you. You don't talk because you find it a chore to so. You don't want to waste your saliva because you think it's tiring. You don't try to talk to other people unless necessary because you think that it contributes to your personality. You think that you look like you can survive with out talking to other people. But the truth is, you DO care about what people think, you just never admit it."  
  
She gave him a smile. A sweet one. Artemis smiled back. He knew what her smile meant. It meant that the description that he had given her of herself had been only partially correct, and it had restored her self esteem that nobody could figure her out. And Kara knew what his smile meant as well. She had been partially correct.  
  
Kara came up with an idea.  
  
"Let's have contest," she said. "Let's pick a person to figure out!" she was a bubbly person.  
  
Artemis sighed. It wasn't his style t o figure people out. It was a tiring task, boring, since they were all the same. Then he came up with an idea of his own.  
  
"Yeah," he said, acting interested. "I've got the right person in mind."  
  
"Okay. Who?"  
  
"Do you know Faye Penetrante?"  
  
"That physics whiz? Yeah, of course. Why?"  
  
"Here. If you can figure out her weaknesses, and how to get your way with her, then I'll tell you about me."  
  
Artemis was smart more smart than anyone his age, with more experience on human nature than a psychiatrist. And he had figured out the poor Karren Tindrea. She was just a girl who tried to figure out others to try to adapt a personality for herself. She was going through a personality crisis. If she had really been that great with people, then she would have noticed right away that he, Artemis Fowl was using her to learn about someone else, feeding her bait.  
  
Artemis leaned backwards. He was feeling more at home, now that he knew that his touch with human nature was still intact.  
  
END CHAPTER TWO 


	3. meteor rock

"Artemis?" Faye entered the small room. The floor had been covered with a straw mat, and a futon had been rolled out in the middle. Artemis barely had time to hide the book under the futon before Faye came in.  
  
"What is it?" Artemis asked. Faye gave him a bored expression. "The book, Artemis," she said. Artemis gave her a puzzled look.  
  
"What book?" he countered. Faye sighed impatiently. She had seen him reading the book through one of her hidden cameras. She and Migi had contemplated for a while what to do, and in the end, Faye had been sent to go to the room.  
  
Faye heard her cell phone ring, and she picked it up.  
  
"Hello?" she asked.  
  
Migi's voice came from the other end of the line. "Under the futon," the voice said. She had been watching the cameras in their room, and she had seen Artemis hide the book.  
  
Faye hung up the phone. "I know it's under the futon," she said pointedly. "I'm not that stupid. Now, just hand it over, Artemis. I'm sorry, I can't let you read that book."  
  
Artemis paused. From his squatting position on the floor, he pushed himself up to a sitting position and he retrieved the book. He held it, and when he whipped around, he was obviously angry.  
  
"This isn't mine," he said. "And who the hell do you think you are? You do know that I can just get another copy of the book any where in school, don't you?"  
  
Faye nodded. He did have a point. But now, it was better then to stall him from reading the book The book held some personality revelations that she and Migi were going to use to their advantage to get Artemis to stay put while he was with them. But if Artemis were to read the book, he would be able to see right through their plans right away, and put them at a disadvantage.  
  
She took the book anyway. "I'll return this to Kara then."  
  
Suddenly, there was a knocking at the door. Migi came in.  
  
"Faye, I want to talk to Artemis," she said.  
  
Faye nodded. She gave Migi a grin and made a waving motion with her hand: 'I'll be watching from the cameras'. Migi shook her head.  
  
"In private. Sorry, Faye."  
  
Faye just stared a little, and then nodded. She closed the door behind her, and made straight for the kitchen. She knew it was going to be useless to check the cameras. She was sure that Migi had already disabled the cable in the room, taking the white plug with her to Artemis' room, just to be safe. Faye sighed. This was going to be interesting.  
  
"What do you want?" Artemis asked Migi. She stood face to face in front of him. He was wearing a pair of Guess jeans, and a nice shirt from Loalde. Faye had insisted that the guy get the best clothes that they could afford. They had spent about half of their entire savings just signing up for a sudden scholarship for Artemis and his clothes.  
  
"Um." Migi began. "Artemis, I'd hate to tell you this.But the thing is, I sort of feel a little guilty about this."  
  
"Wait. Aren't you afraid that your friend Faye will be able to hear this conversation? I know there's a camera hidden here somewhere."  
  
"I disabled it."  
  
"Oh." Artemis was actually surprised, but he covered it up. "Well, get whatever you're going to say over with, because I don't think you'll regain the courage if you stop again."  
  
Migi took a deep breath.  
  
"Okay. The thing is, I've just gone to Faye's room. I took a look at the machine used to bring you here, because I really do want to bring you back into your own world. And.to tell you the truth.the machine is totaled."  
  
"Totaled? You don't mean."  
  
"It's broken. Done for. Artemis, I don't think you're going to be able to go back, not with that machine."  
  
Artemis sighed. "Then you guys can make another. I don't think that Faye would break her promise on purpose."  
  
Migi sighed in turn. "You don't seem to get it. The machine needs a meteor rock to work. In this world, NASA had already gotten rid of their meteor rocks because they were thought to be useless, even for display. And Russia had never acquired any meteor rock yet. The meteor rock that Faye and I were able to obtain was by complete fate, when Faye had happened to pick up what looked like a shell but had the characteristics of a meteor rock. There were two of those rocks that she picked up out of complete interest."  
  
::A meteor rock:: Artemis thought.  
  
"What's the difference between the meteor rock and a normal one? Cant you just get a normal rock and then fool the machine?"  
  
Migi felt a drop of sweat run down her back.  
  
"No. That's really impossible. Meteor rocks have some pent up power in them."  
  
"Oh. What do these meteor rocks look like then?"  
  
"Er.They're gray, they're hard, they are heavy, they don't break when you drop them, they're shiny yellow when you put them up against yellow light.Red when you put them under red light.Um."  
  
He stood straighter, with his arms crossed in front of his chest.  
  
"You're telling me that all the qualities of a meteor rock are the exact qualities of a normal stone, and we STILL cannot tell the machine that the rock is a meteor rock."  
  
"Precisely."  
  
Artemis sort of grimaced and gave a slightly crazy laugh.  
  
"Then how long are you guys going to keep me here if you don't know when you can bring me back?"  
  
"Um."  
  
"You mentioned that there was another meteor rock. What happened to it?"  
  
"Faye sort of gave it to her best friend at the time."  
  
"Oh. It wasn't you back then?"  
  
"No. It was that girl named Kara Tindrea. They used to go around a whole lot together. But now that I mentioned it, I think she had a garage sale a couple of months back, and she sold it to some well known neighborhood brat."  
  
"A brat. Is he around our age?"  
  
"No. He's in sixth grade and completely brainless. He flunked grade five twice, and he's going to flunk grade six, I predict."  
  
"Do you know where I can find him?"  
  
"The school registrar has the list of addresses and names of all the students. Go check around with her or something."  
  
Artemis nodded. He uncrossed his arms. Then, as if something had dawned onto him, he gave her a suspicious look.  
  
"Why are you helping me? This isn't some scheme or anything between you and Faye to lower my pride, is it?"  
  
Migi looked away, a little flustered. She reached around her neck and pulled out a silver chain with a cross at the end. Artemis was hardly surprised. She was a catholic, just as he had more or less guessed. She was prone to conscience. And of the moment, his shrewd prisoner tactics made him use her obvious vulnerability to his advantage.  
  
"So you're feeling a bit catholic, eh?" he said a little quietly. "How do I get to the place when I do find it, then? Are you planning on giving me some more help? Like, let's say, a ride?"  
  
Migi narrowed her eyes at him. She wasn't what anyone called stupid. And, yes, she did know what he was trying to pull.  
  
"Don't butter me up, Artemis. I know what you're trying to do, so don't push it. I already had plans to give you a ride anyway. That's all I'm going to do. You have to figure out the machine on your own.  
  
"It's a deal then." Artemis took a deep breath the same moment a knock came from the door. It was Faye. She entered, carrying a tray of food.  
  
"Hey there," Faye said. Her eyes were a bit slit. It was a night for suspicion. "Hey, Migi, SOMEONE disabled the camera in this room. I'll bet my right foot that Artemis was trying to get something out of you."  
  
Migi regarded her friend calmly.  
  
"Then in that case, you'll have to give me your right foot."  
  
(Sorry, I couldn't help putting in this corny pun. Heard it somewhere, and it was so corny that I found it funny, and it's merriment stayed with me for the longest time.)  
  
"Eh?"  
  
"It wasn't Artemis, Faye. I was trying to get something out of him."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Migi slipped her sliver chain back into her shirt. She decided that it was time to change the subject. She pointed to the tray of food.  
  
"Is that for Artemis?"  
  
Faye looked at the tray. "Ohh.yeah."  
  
Faye looked at Migi, a sort of confused and hurt expression on her face. Then she jerked her head to the direction of the door.  
  
"Migs, I want to talk to Artemis for a while, too. Sorry, I have to give him a piece of my mind."  
  
Migi shrugged. She had already suspected that it was coming on. She nodded to Faye and went out, closing the door behind her.  
  
Faye immediately whipped around to face Artemis. He was looking at the food in her tray. Faye opened her mouth to speak.  
  
"Okay, what did you talk about?"  
  
Artemis gave a small careless motion with his shoulders. He had a ready answer, of course. He thought ahead. He had a plan. First, he was going to make her really curious, then he was going to go in for the kill.  
  
"One of those girly things. Nothing I haven't heard before."  
  
"Girl.stuff?"  
  
"It wasn't important, as far as I'm concerned."  
  
Faye was a little skeptical. Migi rarely dwelt on girly things, especially things that were.not important.  
  
"Tell me or you don't get any food."  
  
"Then you'll give me some tomorrow morning."  
  
"No, I wont."  
  
"Are you planning to starve me to death?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Artemis simply stared at her. It was a deliberate response. Faye was hard to look through, not like Migi's open nature. Faye was closed and wary of him, and he knew that it wasn't going to work to his advantage. Of course, he doubted that she would have the guts to starve him. He knew a bluff when he heard one. But at the moment, he was just a little bit hungry. And the 'make her curious' bit was already over. Now to set the trap.  
  
"Fine," he said. "Just give me the stupid tray."  
  
Faye handed it over hesitantly.  
  
"She wants me to escape from here."  
  
Silence.  
  
Silence.  
  
"I don't believe you," Faye said. She laughed and glanced at his tray, which he had already eaten a part of.  
  
"It's going to be hard for her best friend of the moment to believe such a thing. But she told me that you didn't have the main tool needed to send me back home."  
  
Faye didn't flinch. She knew he was lying.  
  
"Tell me then. Humor me a moment."  
  
"You need one of those meteor rocks."  
  
At this, Faye actually balked. Artemis noted with some feeling of triumph the astonished look in her eyes.  
  
".And," he continued. "she told me where to get another one, in that grade six boy's house. I'll bet you were planning to get it yourself, weren't you? To assure that I wouldn't get my hands on it?"  
  
Faye was gritting her teeth. She thought carefully. She knew that she had given the rock to Kara, and not to some adolescent sixth grader, but she didn't doubt Artemis' knowledge. There was an assuredness in his voice, a whole lot of confidence that made her face put up one of her ready smug smiles.  
  
"I'm going to get it before you, so don't even think about anything stupid."  
  
At this, Artemis' eyes narrowed, and he somehow guessed that she was planning to push through the same moment. But, he only watched as she exited the room and locked the door behind her.  
  
Artemis leaned back with a contented expression. He had laid the bait. It was easier this way. He had deliberately set Faye and Migi against each other, and he was right smack in the middle of it at the moment, but if he played his cards right, he was going to be able to back out, out of the scene of the two bickering girls, and along with him the meteor rock, and he was going to somehow figure the machine out.  
  
END CHAPTER THREE 


	4. pregoodbye

"Migi!! Migi!!" Faye practically screeched as she went through the halls of the small house. She stopped in front of Migi's room and started banging on the door with one fist.  
  
Almost immediately, the door opened, to reveal an equally annoyed Migi, who was obviously gearing herself up to start shouting back at her friend.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" Faye screamed in Migi's face. Migi flinched and took an involuntary step back. She was wearing her elephant pajamas. She had gone to bed the moment she had left Artemis' room without dinner, and just a couple of minutes later, Faye was barging through the tiny house as if the world were having war against mars.  
  
Nevertheless, irritation gave way and Migi screamed back.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT! YOU'RE SO LOUD!"  
  
Faye calmed down when she heard this. She barged into the room past Migi, purposely pushing the curvy girl even if she had offered no resistance. Faye sat on the modest bed and looked at Migi, calming herself.  
  
"You told Artemis how to escape. You WANT him to escape. How could you? You know it's really important for me to keep him here!"  
  
"Did that- did he- he told you, didn't he!"  
  
"Yeah, so what! That's not the point here, now is it!"  
  
Migi looked at Faye squarely. She decided it was time to take a stand.  
  
"What do you need him for anyway? He has to go back where he came from! You idiot! You've always been so selfish!"  
  
Faye sprung up, her temper working itself up again.  
  
"You! Prissy Princess! It's just that some of US have nothing to have to begin with!"  
  
Migi stuck up her chin in indignation. "Why do you think I ran away, you lowlife! Why Artemis, of all people! He's a real person, and you're just cooping him out here!"  
  
Faye reeled, as if she were slap. "I'm not a lowlife!" she said.  
  
"But you're really selfish! You can't keep people in houses against their will! It's not NORMAL! Give him a break! He's not your pet dog!"  
  
Faye suddenly calmed down. She was picturing an Artemis-dog, complete with a collar around his neck. Migi had that trait, she could make people feel like monsters. It was a political skill inherited from her mother.  
  
"I- I'm not treating him like a dog!" Faye said, but it was half- hearted. She backed out of the room, out of a stricken Migi's sight, into the hall. She walked somewhat blindly down the hall to the room where Artemis was. Her hand sort of shook a bit as she opened the lock. She threw the door open, noticed the surprised look on his face, and just stared at him face-on.  
  
She stared openly, and then she knew. She saw the bags under his eyes. Sh*t. she was a Christian as well.  
  
"Artemis."  
  
He stood up, now looking at her with a controlled expression. His protective instincts were kicking in, as much as he hated to admit it. Since he was two thirds taller than her, he put a hand on her head easily. He was awkward, but he didn't know how else to go about it. For the moment, he was just Artemis Fowl, teenage guy, not a mastermind. He couldn't stand crying girls. It reminded him of his mother.  
  
And Faye was crying bitterly, even if she obviously was trying to hide it. She was looking at him with the top of her eyes draping over her pupils, and she kept snuffing out the sounds she was making by using the back of her hand. Artemis shrugged and looked away. Sometimes he wished he were just a normal guy who didn't need to act like he was such a hotshot.  
  
A hand suddenly came up behind Faye, and the they saw that it was Migi. She was looking at Faye sympathetically. She came up close, and she whispered to her friend's ear:  
  
"Faye, I know you might hate me for this, but I'm going over to the kid's house right now. It's only seven in the evening, and he ought to be awake. I don't want to keep Artemis here longer than we have to. Meanwhile, see what you can do to the machine. I think this is going to take a while. I still have to go over to the school secretary's house and ask for the address and I think he said that it was somewhere a bit far from the main roads. If I get lost, then I'll call you on your cell phone."  
  
Faye hesitated, then nodded. Artemis felt a little rotten, just standing there, when a new crude plan was already formulating inside his head. After Migi had left, Faye gave him a faint motion of her head that signified him to follow her. He did, and she led him into a room. She had stopped crying, and now, she was holding her chin up. She had an awful lot of pride.  
  
"Is this your room?" he asked. She didn't say anything, but he took it as a yes. It was a small, cramped room. The walls were painted completely with a swirly blend of blue and silver. Hundreds of tiny glow in the dark stars were stuck onto the walls. Two book shelves were against the right side of the wall. A large lamp loomed over a study table. Aside from that, the room was sparse. There was a tiny window, and the floor was bare. On the far side, a rolled up bed was yet unprepared.  
  
"You guys like futons," he said.  
  
"It's what we can afford."  
  
Her cell phone rang. She answered it, and sounded surprised. She held the cell phone close to her ear and continued to answer the person on the other end of the line. At length, she pressed the hang up button and she looked at Artemis.  
  
"My friend is coming over today," she said. "His name is Jowy Tindrea. I think you'll like him. He's been one of my closest friends since I was in junior high."  
  
Artemis nodded. "Sure. The more people, the merrier it can be over here."  
  
Faye nodded. "I'll go get some drinks for us." She gave him a suspicious look. "Don't try anything stupid, Artemis. Me and Migi are sending you home, but if you do something that I don't think I'd like, then you're stuck here, no matter how crazy you drive me if you remain."  
  
Artemis nodded.  
  
Faye exited. Hurriedly, Artemis went over to the machine and took a look at it. Actually, it didn't really look anything like a machine anymore. It just seemed like a pile of scraps of metal piled on top of the other. The wires were in disarray, and they were tangled up, but Artemis didn't see that as a major part of the problem. He didn't really know anything about machines, but he could try to learn.  
  
He reached to touch the pile with a probing finger, when Faye came back. He had been studying the machine longer than he knew. Faye was carrying a tray with three glasses of iced tea.  
  
"I guess you've really taken a liking to doing exactly what I don't tell you to do," she said dryly. She made towards him, and knelt beside him on the machine.  
  
"I guess I have to show you have to work this, in case I decide to back out on my word," she said heavily. "At least, then, I'd know that it doesn't depend entirely on myself to bring you back."  
  
Out of her short pockets, she pulled out a wrench, and then, she started to separate the wires.  
  
"The red wire is attached to the main circuit, and the green is on the other end. See this tin? It's wrapped around a first mother board, and."  
  
She twisted and turned the wires and parts at an amazing speed and ease. Artemis watched, fascinated. Even if his expression was bewildered, he was taking in all that was being told to him, without missing a single word. Faye kept going on until the door bell rung. It was Jowy. He had brought a pizza. Faye left Artemis in the room as she went out to open the door.  
  
"Hey, Faye," he said casually. He had brown hair and brown eyes. He was handsome, but in a down to earth way. He held out the pizza box.  
  
"Starving?"  
  
Faye laughed. "Sort of. I'm sort of busy at the moment, but you're free to watch TV out here a while. I'll be out soon."  
  
"Really? What're you doing?"  
  
"I'm reconstructing something I made a couple of months ago."  
  
Jowy nodded. He was also a really smart person, but he wasn't a nerd or a geek. Faye saw the look of interest on his face, and she took the cue. She took his hand, and pulled him into her room, holding the box of pizza.  
  
Artemis, who had been kneeling in front of the machine, stood up at the sight of Jowy. Jowy was doing likewise. Faye was oblivious. She set the pizza on her bed, and started to refill Artemis' drink with iced tea.  
  
"A friend of yours?" Jowy asked.  
  
Faye saw that he was referring to Artemis.  
  
"Sort of," she smiled. "I wish I could have known him longer, though."  
  
"He's really." Jowy didn't know how to say it without sounding like he was a bisexual. But there was no other way to put it. Artemis was simply striking and handsome, raven hair and blue eyes. It was a world of diversity in looks, and Jowy had seen lots of people, but Artemis was.  
  
"Are you and him.?" Jowy's question trailed off.  
  
"No, no," Faye said nervously, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. "He's not my boyfriend or anything. We just live together, that's all."  
  
Jowy broke out into a sweat. He noticed that Faye was wearing short shorts and a sort of revealing t-shirt.  
  
He started to pull on her arm. "Can I talk to you?"  
  
Faye said: "Oh, we can do that later. Let's just eat."  
  
But Jowy was persistent. He tugged on her right arm. Then Faye suddenly felt pressure on her left arm. She looked to see Artemis to her left. Her eyes grew wide.  
  
"Let's go eat the pizza," Artemis said almost pleasantly to Jowy. He still held on to her arm. "She doesn't want to talk to you, she wants to eat."  
  
Faye looked from Jowy to Artemis, and then she shook off the hands at the same time. She gave a nervous laugh, noticing the strange atmosphere.  
  
"What is it with you two?" she asked.  
  
She squatted on the floor, like she didn't expect an answer anyway, and then she motioned for the two to sit down. They sat down in a triangle. Faye opened the box, and offered the first pizza to Jowy. She glanced at her watch thoughtfully.  
  
The kid's house wasn't that far away, so Migi would be back in about thirty minutes or so. Meanwhile, she was going to fix the machine as soon as possible, so that she could send Artemis back. She didn't want to bring him back where he came from, but she had little choice in the matter, and she doubted her conscience would let her rest if she'd insist on cooping Artemis up.  
  
Sure, he was stronger than Migi and her combined, and much more cunning in some ways, but he wasn't in his own grounds, and he didn't deserve to be put through the hassle of trying to fit in and make a decent life in the 20th century. Faye shook her head. Before she got more attached to the mysterious stranger in her house, then she'd have to put him back in the book.  
  
She gave a sigh, knowing that Artemis and Jowy were watching her in silence curiously. She looked up and met their gazes. Then she gave a smile. She had a nice smile. Her blond hair and golden eyes were a strange combination. She looked more surreal than part of the real world, but she was still pretty nonetheless. Jowy noted this with silence. Artemis seemed nonchalant, but he sort of turned a little red when he saw the smile.  
  
"Are you actually blushing?" Jowy asked Artemis. It was so typical of one guy to point out the dilemma of the other. And it was very typical of one guy to understand why one guy was so horribly turning red.  
  
Artemis covered up, smoothed out any facial wrinkle that might have existed, and pointed to his mouth.  
  
"Hot pizza."  
  
"Oh." Jowy and Faye said at the same time.  
  
Artemis didn't say anything. Jowy seemed suspicious, but Faye was clearly accepting and she had fallen for his explanation. For all her bright ideas and plans, she was easily fooled when it came to other practical matters concerning lying.  
  
She was too easy to deceive. 


	5. in love

CHAPTER 4  
  
IN MIGI'S AND FAYE'S HOUSE  
  
They had been playing with a deck of cards in Faye's room. Faye and Jowy had had to teach Artemis a whole lot of games, since he wasn't all too experienced concerning cards. Afterwards, he won so many times that he was already getting bored. Faye's mood had apparently lightened, as she no longer kept glancing at her watch.  
  
Jowy was loosening up as well. He strayed closer to Faye during one of the games, and Artemis moved closer as well, until Faye pushed them both apart at the same time.  
  
"Geez, I lost again," Faye laughed good-naturedly. She lay down her cards and pointed to them one by one, pointing it out to Jowy and Artemis. "Jowy, we can't leave it like this! Rematch!"  
  
Artemis found himself smiling as well, as if his facial muscles were moving on their own without his consent, at the sound of Faye's laugh. She glanced up momentarily, and for a moment, her eyes gazed straight into his, her laugh dying abruptly.  
  
She and Artemis' gazes locked into each other's, until she suddenly broke it off with a wave of her hand.  
  
"It's too early to say that you hate me," she laughed. She gathered the cards and began to shuffle them again.  
  
Artemis looked past her head, to the machine, and was sort of left feeling dumb by how she could wave away such an embarrassing, but obvious spark of realization. Then suddenly, a thought came to his mind unbidden, and he was so shocked at the prospect that he didn't do anything but just sit up straighter and shake his head.  
  
Jowy was looking at him.  
  
"What's up with you?" he asked.  
  
Artemis gave a glare. "It's nothing," he hissed.  
  
At that moment, the doorbell rang. Artemis jumped up before Faye could.  
  
"I'll get the door," he blurted out, as if he weren't a prisoner, and there was no chance in the world he'd try to run out and not look back twice. "Don't worry, I just have to ask Migi something."  
  
Faye looked at him, then gave a vague nod.  
  
Artemis rushed through the halls, and he stopped in front of the door. He swung it open. Migi, who had obviously expected Faye, was speechless. Artemis took a deep breath.  
  
"Migi- I need to talk to you. Disable any camera here right now."  
  
Migi stood still before she slowly closed the door.and took a remote from her pocket. Then she pointed it to the peek hole. A red light shone for a while, then died down. From another room in the house, Faye said: "Damn," as she watched the TV screen go blank.  
  
"Okay, what is it?" Migi asked. Artemis hesitated.  
  
"Migi." he said. "I want to stay here in this house for a while."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Yeah," he said. He pushed his hands into his pockets. "Migi.please trust me on this."  
  
"For what??" Migi was completely confused. Her head was reeling. What would Faye think? Would she be overjoyed?  
  
"I can't tell you why."  
  
"You have to tell me," Migi said, regaining control over the situation. She became serious. "If you don't tell me, then I won't listen to you. I have no control whether you're entering that machine or not, but I can call the police to kick you out of this house if I don't want you here anymore."  
  
Artemis looked around, stalling, until he felt he had no choice.  
  
"I.I sort of like Faye." He turned red. But he said: "It's hot," and he started to fan himself with his hand. Migi hated to watch him in that moment. He had destroyed his poise. Then his words got to her.  
  
"YOU- YOU- " she couldn't find the words to say what she knew she was going to have to say. "That can't be!" she said.  
  
"Artemis! Don't do that to her!"  
  
Artemis gaped, frozen.  
  
"Listen, Artemis! If that's the way it is, then even I don't want you to stay in here. It's better if you'd go back to where you came from, and never to think about this again!"  
  
He burst in annoyance.  
  
"How can I forget about it, idiot?! I can't just tell myself that this is a dream or anything! What are you talking about!"  
  
Migi looked away. She felt her lower lip tremble. Artemis was just a character from a lousy book. The book wasn't even a novel. And.at the same time. he was everything she could have ever hoped to see from a guy. He was smart, handsome, and mysterious. She didn't realize that she had fallen in love with him so hard until she was returning to the house with the meteor rock in her hand.  
  
She had been thinking about letting him go, somewhere so far that she wouldn't be able to see him ever again, and then her heart had begun to ache, and then she had realized that she loved him, more than anyone else in the world, in the romantic sense, of course.  
  
She had been thinking about asking him to run away with her to another place far from Faye, where she could ask money from her parents, and where she could start a life with him. She insisted that love on his part would grow with time. But when she had opened the door, and heard that he had fallen in love with Faye, not her, she had developed a feeling of loss. It was going to be better if no one would have him if she couldn't have him.  
  
But now, he had admitted that he had liked Faye, and for Migi, she knew that she'd rather risk the happiness of both Faye and Artemis if it would spare her from the torture of seeing the two of them together if he'd remain.  
  
She walked past him into Faye's room. He followed in her heels.  
  
"Faye! Is the machine ready?" she asked as soon as she opened the door. She greeted Jowy carelessly and then she turned her attention back to the junk pile. It was definitely better than when she had last seen it before she left, but apparently, it was still in need of repairs.  
  
"She's not here," Jowy said. "She went into some other room a while ago."  
  
On cue, Faye appeared behind Migi and Artemis. "Migi, what did you say?" she asked.  
  
Migi pointed to the machine. "Can you hurry up and finish that thing?" she asked.  
  
Faye nodded. "It's only a few more adjustments, and we still need that cursed meteor rock. Do you have it?"  
  
Migi replied that she had, but she made no effort to bring it out. Faye didn't think anything of this as she crossed the small room to the machine. She bent down, and started to call out orders to hand her a screwdriver- a wrench- whatever she needed, and everyone scrambled to help her. All except Artemis. He just watched the scene before him, then dozed off while leaning against the wall.  
  
He came around when Faye gave him a sock on the head.  
  
"Okay," she said thickly. "I think it's about time for you to be going." She stretched out her arms to the general direction of the machine. "It still looks a little beaten up, but it's in working condition."  
  
Artemis looked at the machine, then turned away. "I'm not getting in there."  
  
"What?" Faye was stunned. He had been so eager to go back to where he had come from before this.  
  
"I'm staying here," he said.  
  
Migi, from behind Faye, was giving him a dirty look. Faye looked down on the floor.  
  
"But.but." she began. "I had been so ready to accept that you were going to leave."  
  
"Oh. You really want me to go back that badly. But I'm staying right here. I wont stay in this house, since you don't want me to. I'm getting out, and I'm going get somewhere, somehow."  
  
"Th- that's crazy!" Faye said. "You can't just expect to get a stupid job as a waiter and build a house with those wages! What made you change your mind so suddenly anyway? Did Migi put you up to this?!"  
  
Faye looked behind her shoulder at Migi, who was clearly insulted with that last line.  
  
"No," he replied calmly. "Faye. I. Like. You."  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
Everyone in the room stared. From Jowy's perch on the wall, he suddenly took up a more formal stance, but he didn't move. Faye stared at Artemis, her mouth open, and Migi put a hand to her forehead.  
  
"That's not possible," Migi laughed suddenly. Her laugh was hollow. Faye gave a small giggle, too, but it was so obviously forced.  
  
Artemis winced.  
  
Faye took in a breath. She hadn't fallen in love with Artemis too much, but she was scared that if he stayed in their world too long, she would be head over heels at the sight of him. Now, she had already prepared herself to send him back. In earlier circumstances, she might have been happy that he liked her, and she would have been overjoyed that he'd wanted to stay with them, but Migi had brought her to her senses. It wasn't a world based on emotions, it was better to just let go and let things be.  
  
"Good-bye, Artemis," she said coldly. She motioned to the machine, and Artemis shook his head.  
  
"Faye, I don't know what came into me. I just knew right now, tonight, that I had these.er. feelings for you.I'm not leaving! Not until I know what you're thinking!"  
  
Faye gave a bitter laugh.  
  
"Heh. You cant like me," she said. "You're a character in a book, Artemis!"  
  
"Just because someone's written about me, doesn't mean that I don't really exist!"  
  
"You idiot! You don't get it! No one wrote about you! You're Artemis Fowl, a kid from the imagination of a very good author! Whatever is written in the book, that's what's in your tiny memory-you cant be anything but just a fictional character!"  
  
Artemis felt a bead of sweat run down his temple.  
  
"You're not a real person," Migi said softly. "We just brought you here because we wanted to somewhat pretend that you were. I'm sorry, Artemis."  
  
"How- how can you say I'm not real?! I'm standing right in front of you! Isn't that proof enough that I'm real?!"  
  
Faye took a step back. She gave a nervous laugh that sounded a little chocked. Artemis looked a little stricken, an emotional unusual in his pale blue eyes. He seemed at a loss for what to say, and then he ran a hand through his raven hair. He was slightly flustered, and he obviously couldn't look anyone in the room in the eye anymore.  
  
"Dammit." He let his arm rest on his side. This wasn't who he was. He was heartless and cruel. He had taken away the pride of several leprechaun forces by outsmarting them, embarrassing them, and giving them reason to hate him.  
  
"NO NO NO NO NO!" Faye suddenly shouted in his face. Artemis put a finger to his ear. It was ringing strangely. He gave a grimace.  
  
"You're too loud," he said.  
  
Faye huffed. "You CANNOT stay here, you idiot! What's going through your stupid head?! You have a place to go back to, and here you are insisting that you want to stay in a place that's WAY beyond your area of knowledge! I mean, there are things in this world that you wouldn't even have THOUGHT about in that book you're in! There are detectives, scientists, that make you wriggle under their questions! We're not in that book, where the people fall for the slightest tricks you set up for them!"  
  
She huffed again. "You're going back, if it's going to be the last thing you're going to do!"  
  
Artemis stood straighter. That was one of his problems. He was stubborn. And it was going to be one of the last things he was going to do, to board the machine and go back where he came from. There was hardly anything that would keep him obligated. For one, there was Butler, and for another, there was Julie, and his mother had died a few years earlier already.  
  
Aside from all those, he would be leaving behind his wealth, his constant battles with the leprechaun forces, and his eternal quests for strange things that no one else sought.  
  
"It IS going to be the last thing I'm going to do. Unless you plan to go with me there."  
  
Artemis said it lazily. Faye glared at him.  
  
"Jowy-" she began. Jowy stepped up right away and gave Artemis a punch in the side of his face. Artemis' eyes grew wide. He staggered backwards one step, holding his jaw. Then he looked up, and he repaid the deed by socking Jowy in the jaw as well.  
  
Now, Artemis wasn't such a great fist fighter, since it wasn't in his range of expertise. He was used to having Butler around to prevent any physical contact, and Artemis was far more used to mental games than the brawling that was so common in streets.  
  
But, now, he found that he had more strength than he realized, because Jowy seemed surprised. Jowy retracted his elbow for another chance to hit him, and he did the same, until Artemis felt pressure on the back of his head. He collapsed with a slight sense of surprise. When he collapsed on the floor, a stricken Migi stood behind him, a large wooden plank from the windowsill for the plants in her hand.  
  
On her face was a guilty expression mixed with disbelief, as if she couldn't believe it herself that she had done that. Faye pointed to the body of Artemis.  
  
"Jowy. Can you cramp him into the machine?" she said it harshly. Jowy nodded. He moved towards Artemis' body and pulled on his arm.  
  
He hoisted the dead weight onto his back, and he started to walk, when his eyes suddenly grew wide. He fell to his knees after just a second, and from the heap, Artemis stood up, haggard.  
  
"Artemis-" Faye chocked.  
  
He stood up calmly. When he looked at them, the look in his eyes were cold.  
  
"Faye," he said calmly. "I'm going to take you down. Meet me tomorrow in the school gym, at eight o' clock. It won't be locked, since this time of year, the basketball players usually play around in the gym till late at night."  
  
"Oh yeah? And what makes you so sure that I'm going to show up?!"  
  
Artemis chuckled.  
  
"Because-" he began. "Some things are just irreplaceable."  
  
Faye's eyes grew wide as he turned to Migi, and knocked her unconscious with a punch in the gut.  
  
"You know, Faye," he said, as he picked up the unconscious Migi and put her against her back. "For a while back there, in this house, I forgot that I was wanted because of my name, and that I wasn't living up to my reputation as a cruel person. Now, this is going to be your fault. I've got the blue prints for that machine of yours, I got it while you had gone to get some lemonade. You were careless, leaving it to lie in such an open space. I'll get along somehow. I'll take Migi to my world, and if she's lucky enough to come back here, she'll relate to you how it feels to be a held inside a stupid, cramped space." 


	6. nice plan

Migi stirred and looked through her hand to the ceiling. She stared at a cracked gray low surface. A small noise in her head buzzed with alarm as her mind registered what had happened before she had fallen unconscious. She abruptly sat up, and, ignoring the pain in her brain at the sudden change in pressure, she looked around. She was in a.her eyes must have been failing her.was she in a jail cell?! She felt nauseous as she squeezed her eyes shut then opened them again. But sure enough, when she opened her eyes, she saw the same bunk bed, the horrible exposed toilet, and the gray of the metal bars.  
  
Migi quickly checked her pockets for her 6110. It had miraculously disappeared. She gave a sigh of frustration. Her cell phone and wallet was gone. And there was a hint of fear, of course. There were few things in the world scarier than being in a jail cell and not knowing how you got there in a first place. Migi stood up uneasily. The entrance was to her right. She went up to it, and immediately started to make a commotion.  
  
"HEY, WHO'S IN CHARGE OVER HERE?! WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING IN A JAIL CELL?!"  
  
She ignored the baffled stares of the other prisoners that were staring at her and some of them were actually enjoying the noise she made.  
  
"Are you hungry?" Migi's neck nearly snapped when her head whipped around to the source of the voice. There was Artemis, leaning against the wall with his back resting on it as if it were the most comfortable thing in the state. He had changed since she last saw him. He was dressed in a crisp white polo and some nice blue slacks. He looked like a school guy in what he was wearing.  
  
"Where are we?" she asked sharply. She looked around suspiciously. But there was nothing that wasn't obvious already. She was in a jail ward, standing where she shouldn't be, and Artemis was standing OUTSIDE, a place where he wasn't supposed to be, either. There was nothing special about it. Artemis gave a cool, sly tiny trace of a smile.  
  
"Don't talk to me like that. Don't forget, I'm now CADETTE Artemis Fowl."  
  
Migi looked at him, dumfounded. She just stared as he took out a small piece of paper, and a sort of plastic card. His face was immortalized in a tiny, neat picture, and on the card, it declared him as part of a small organization of the FBI dedicated to the delinquent section.  
  
"See?" Artemis held up the blue plastic for her benefit, but never let her hold it. "I got into the FBI. I asked around, and I discovered a place where some really dumb teenagers smoke pot, and then I left you there, and went to the police. I told them about it, and it took a lot of convincing, but they came anyway, and took everyone there, including you."  
  
"What?! Can you repeat that explanation again?"  
  
Artemis' eyes narrowed. "In much more simpler words, Migi dear, you're under my mercy if you want to get out, because they haven't made the final report on you since you had been unconscious. I especially asked the head guy to be able to interview you about what were you doing there. I'm smart, aren't I?"  
  
He walked away with a grin as Migi screamed at his retreating back: "You idiot!! Smart?! I'm the one who brought you here in the first place! How dare you actually find a place here! Artemiiiiiiiiiiiisssss FFFooooooowwwwwwllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!" IN A SMALL HOUSE, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CITY, UP ON A HILL  
  
"Jowy, help me! Migi is YOUR friend! Help me find her!" Faye was pleading to an annoyed Jowy in the living room. Jowy gave a small shake of his head.  
  
"They can't be far in the city. I mean, it's dangerous out there, and Artemis looks like a guy who couldn't throw a good punch if his life depended on it. He's smart, though, so I'd bet that he's in some area around down town, in a run down apartment crawling with drug addicts."  
  
Faye wrung her hands and controlled the urge to arrange her fingers around his neck.  
  
"That's not good enough, Jowy! We need to call the police or something!"  
  
"And tell them what? That a fictional character stole your friend? That's dumb."  
  
"Don't you even CARE?! My only companion in the world has disappeared, possibly for good, and I might never see her again, and you're not even lifting a finger to help her!"  
  
Jowy stood up abruptly.  
  
"Okay. I'm going downtown. Its time where there are lots of people around. I'm going to ask about A pretty kid with pretty blue eyes and pretty black hair. I have a couple of.acquaintances with some of the guys. I'll be back later."  
  
Faye stood up, too, and she started walking to where her room was.  
  
"I'll just get a coat or something."  
  
"No. You stay here."  
  
Faye looked at him wonderingly for a while.  
  
"He's going to come back, sometime, Faye. He can't go back to his own world otherwise. So you need to stay right here. I really don't think he would hurt you just to go inside the house. He's a mean kid, but he's not bad. Bye, Faye!"  
  
He waved a bit then he exited the living room, already knowing his way around the small house. Faye watched his retreating back until he turned into the hall and could no longer be seen. She sighed in an exaggerated way and decided that maybe she should just work on the machine.  
  
HEAD OFFICER'S OFFICE, IN A LOWLY FBI AREA IN THE BUILDING  
  
The head of the teenage delinquent area eyed Artemis a sharply as Artemis dumped a folder filled with paperwork in front of him. Artemis was his new recruit. Artemis was in a special team of young people who didn't know the other person's identity. It helped for them not to know each other to find out if one of them was just misleading the FBI. But Artemis was different from the other teenagers who were transparent and easy to look into.  
  
Cunning, shrewd, and completely ingenious in his plans and reports, Artemis had easily become a leading figure among the others. In just a week of being in the team, he had gone out every single day in the morning to return at three o' clock in the afternoon. And he ALWAYS had something to say, about some drug dealer meeting in a parking lot with a bunch of teenagers, and how to be able to catch him in the act WITH evidence on the same night.  
  
Sometimes that guy would lead to the other, and then more youngsters would be free of the risk that the nightlife was causing.  
  
Thus, in a week, Artemis had assisted, and sometimes led, in catching eight drug dealers and three men who trailed after teenage girls to shoot x- rated videos. And he did it all with a permanent bored look on his face. He said his name was Artemis Fowl, like a boy in some book. He had (fake, he had acquired them from a guy he heard about who specialized especially in making fake ID's.) a fake birth certificate, a fake driver's permit, a fake certificate of the demise of his biological parents in a boating accident. He was supposedly eighteen years old, as was stated in the birth certificate. The head had accepted everything with some careless inspection.  
  
"What's this here?" the head picked the folder and opened it. His eyes scanned it. "Another drug dealer? How many of them are there? Hmm. Faye Penetrante.sixteen years old.You're kidding me, Artemis. Look at her. she wouldn't be able to sneak marijuana past anyone."  
  
Artemis shrugged, and waiting for more. The head cleared his throat.  
  
"Do you have evidence, Fowl?"  
  
Artemis shook his head. He didn't have anything yet. If he were to bring Migi and Migi down and lock them up in jail for their whole lives, he was going to have to think of everything very well. He'd have to convert the small dirt packed room in the house into a pot smoke zone.  
  
"I'm getting to it. This is going to take some time. I want you to allow me to work on this girl's case especially. I can't be bothered by minor drug dealers while I'm working with this girl."  
  
The head nodded and gave a wave of dismissal. Artemis tucked the folder under his right arm and walked out.  
  
JAIL CELL AREA A FEW MINUTES LATER  
  
"I hate it here," Migi spat at Artemis as he drew near. Artemis looked at her, unimpressed. He motioned for the guard, and the guard unlocked the door, letting Artemis in the cell. Migi immediately got up from the lumpy mattress and drew herself up to her full height. She wasn't short, rather she was small, so when she buffed herself up, she reached only up to Artemis' chin. She made up for the height difference by looking straight up into his arrogant eyes.  
  
"DO you hate it here?" Artemis asked, his eyes twinkling. "Oh, no, Migi. You're lucky to be spending a week and maybe only a few more days. Unlike your friend, you're not going to spend the better part of your life here."  
  
"My friend?" Migi wondered for a while before a bell rung in her head. "You mean Jowy?"  
  
Artemis laughed. "No, not Jowy. I don't want to bring his parents into his problems just because he's your friend. No, not him. I'm going for the girl who helped you bring me here in THIS world. Faye."  
  
"Faye?" Migi laughed softly. "That's dumb. You cant do anything to her.What are you going to do, plant some drugs into our house?"  
  
Artemis smiled. He held up the folder that he had been carrying. Migi saw the red lettering scattered across the front of the blue paper. It read the name: 'Faye Penetrante'.  
  
"Too much for your brain to handle, so I cant tell you," Artemis laughed. Migi was dumbstruck. Artemis put the folder away as Migi made a lunge for it. The guard outside made a warning noise. When Migi straightened up, her face was red with frustration and anger.  
  
"Why Migi? What are you going to do, Artemis? Why don't you plan it so that I'd be fixed along with her?"  
  
Artemis' expression grew solemn, but no emotion was betrayed in his blue eyes. He had a ready reason.  
  
"You're going back to teach me how to use the machine."  
  
"I'm never going to help you if you do anything like what you're talking to me about right now."  
  
"Just wait. I'll think of something," he promised.  
  
Migi sank back to the mattress. His appearance was fully confident and even smug. With the look on his face alone, Migi could readily believe that he wasn't bluffing.  
  
"I'll tell you what," Artemis said seriously. "I'm going to give you one phone call to Faye to warn her. Tell her to watch out."  
  
Migi was silent, then they both walked out of the cell after Artemis had a quiet word with the guard. Migi followed Artemis through the halls with several policemen loitering, and they finally reached the phone area. Migi's hand was numb as she picked up the cradle. There wasn't anything that she could think of. If Artemis were correct, and Faye would be in jail, then she knew that she wouldn't be able to pay the monthly payment for the house, since her government scholarship funding could only cover a fourth of what the house asked for. She had usually depended on Faye's parent's supply of money that always came in large amounts.  
  
And even if she did find a cheaper apartment, her scholarship lasted for only a year, and it was nearing the end of the school year already. She should have applied for the second scholarship two weeks beforehand, but it was a scholarship for partner artists. Migi had applied with Faye as her partner. So if one was in trouble, the other would immediately forfeit the educational prize to a final year in their prestigious school.  
  
Almost all scholarships were already closed to accepting anymore students, and the ones that had been left had taken their tests the day before. She and Faye helped each other. There was no other way. Not only as friends, but as partners in crime.  
  
(Ring Ring Phone FX)  
  
(Ring Ring Phone FX)  
  
(Ring Ring Phone FX) "Hello?" Faye's voice was wrung with fatigue. Migi didn't know what to say for a moment.  
  
"Hey Migi."  
  
"Migi!" Faye immediately perked up to life, her speech more fast. "Where are you?! Are you okay?! Where's Artemis?!"  
  
"Hey Faye ." Migi's throat closed in a bit. What was she supposed to say? That she was in jail and that she was scared, more than she had ever been in her whole life? "Faye .be careful."  
  
She chocked out the words. Faye's stunned silence then nervous laugh was reassurance now that Migi knew that she had someone to depend on.  
  
"Why should I be careful? You're the one that's being dragged around to who-knows-what-place! Where are you?"  
  
".I'm-- - "  
  
Migi chocked back a sob of sudden panic and concentrated on telling Faye that something was going to happen, that she had a very bad feeling about it, but apparently she wasn't successful. It took a while for her to calm herself down. She hunched over the phone booth and noted with disgust how her voice had become high and how pathetic she sounded, even to her own ears.  
  
"I'm in- -"  
  
She was suddenly cut off. Her eyes widened and her tears stopped in the middle of their race down her cheek. A voice behind her said: "Your time is up."  
  
"You-" she whirled around and landed a punch in his jaw. Artemis reeled for the slightest instant, clearly shocked, and held a hand to his jaw. He had dropped the folder to the floor. Migi held a hand to her face.  
  
"Sh*T! Artemis you bastard"  
  
A policeman who had been standing by gently took Migi's arm and led her away from Artemis, who was standing, dumbfounded.  
  
"It's alright," the man said comfortingly. "You get to have a call every three days. There's no need to worry. You'll be able to talk to your friend in no time."  
  
Migi looked up at his kind face and smiled gratefully.  
  
PHONE BOOTH AREA, WHERE ARTEMIS WAS SLAPPED  
  
Artemis got the folder from the floor and sighed. The punch hadn't really hurt him seriously. He was stronger than her, and he could take those things. Artemis sighed again, this time a little angry. He was a sort of quick to anger, a trait he had received due to his childhood of getting whatever he wanted.  
  
He gave a shake of his head. He picked up the nearest phone and dialed the phone company. He was going to cut off the phone line of Faye's house to get her to leave her home for just a short while.  
  
A FEW MINUTES LATER, MIGI'S HOUSE UP ON THE HILL  
  
"Yes, operator. Where was the phone call made?" Faye was on the phone talking to an operator to try to trace where Migi had called.  
  
"Let's see," the operator said, her voice static-y on the other end. "The call came from a phone boot in a police post in-"  
  
Then the line went dead. Just like that. The operator never got to finish her sentence. There was no sound at all coming from the receiving end of the phone. Faye frowned, getting at once suspicious. Jowy was out looking for more of his 'friends', and she was the only on in the house. There was nobody around for several kilometers. She had no means to contact anyone, much less be able to find Migi. She was going to have to reconnect the phone. She couldn't wait for Jowy. He just usually dropped by at around eleven in the night, tired and exhausted.  
  
When Faye went out of the house an hour later, with her red hair blowing behind her, Artemis was waiting in a car behind a large tree, and to his right, on the passenger seat beside the driver's wheel, sat a few items that were going to help the plan sooner than Migi or Faye herself had ever suspected. A bag of Marijuana, obtained from the evidence room, candles, some spoons, marijuana leaves with stems, and of course, a duplicate key he had gotten from Migi when she had been unconscious. 


End file.
